Toby Spence

Toby Spence, currently headmaster at Sibford School in Oxfordshire, will become headmaster at Wrekin College, a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Wellington, Shropshire.

Spence has been head at Sibford for seven years and will take over this September from Tim Firth who announced he is stepping down at the end of this academic year in a letter to parents last term.

Richard Pearson, chairman of governors at The Wrekin and Old Hall Trust, which oversees Wrekin College and Old Hall School, said: “We knew finding a worthy successor to Tim would be a challenge but I am very pleased to report that after a comprehensive recruitment programme, we have found a new head for Wrekin.

“I am delighted to say we were able to select someone in Toby who both understands the winning formulae we have established at Wrekin but equally can articulate a path forward that will further enhance our position.”

Spence said “I look forward to joining the Wrekin and Old Hall community, getting to know pupils, staff, and parents, and to building new relationships. It is an immense privilege to have been selected to lead Wrekin College at a time of ambitious development and growth which will see a new design and technology department added to an already enviable campus of specialist departments and facilities. Wrekin is a school that encourages all to embrace opportunities and to be ambitious for individual and collective achievements. I am very much looking forward to leading this next stage of its continuing success.”

Firth said he felt it was the right time to make the move having arrived at Wrekin College in 2016 with a development plan which had not only extended the available facilities but has seen records broken both in numbers of pupils on roll and GCSE and A-level exam results.

Firth added: “From the day of my first interview for the role of head, I have been impressed with the Wrekin community. The willingness to embrace change and push boundaries has created a positive, strong, and stable environment for staff, pupils and parents. It means a headteacher can be ambitious in what they look to achieve with a school. I believe Toby will continue to build on the success Wrekin can already be rightly proud of.”